Southern Livings Best Buttermilk Biscuits I Made It

Southern Livings Best Buttermilk Biscuits

pointsevenout 11 years ago
Recipe by Lanacountry: Southern Livings Best Buttermilk Biscuits/saved
A good biscuit. An inch rise.
This recipe spec's out the flour in an unusual way. They call it soft wheat flour. Don't let it confuse you. What it is, is pastry flour. The gluten level in soft wheat flour (pastry flour) is a cut below all-purpose flour and above cake flour.
I was ignorant on the subject and used white-wheat flour, which , it turns out, is albino wheat flour. It has all the characteristics of wheat flour except for the pigment. So my first batch didn't rise so well but the second batch did using home made soft wheat flour.
To whip up some pastry flour, in a pinch, use one cup all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, then add in 2 tablespoons corn starch.
And, as always, I make my own self-rising flour.
Used a 3" cutter and the biscuits turned out just fine. Using a 2" cutter only gives the illusion of a better risen biscuit.
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frankieanne 11 years ago said:

Another nice looking bunch of biscuits, pso. I'm going to buy some buttermilk this weekend. Its about time I try some biscuits.

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mommyluvs2cook 11 years ago said:

Make your own. Never buy buttermilk, I learned I use it once and never again and it goes bad! Put 1/2 Tbs vinegar in a measuring cup and then fill with milk to a 1/2 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then you have buttermilk!!! Adjust measurements to the recipe though. That's just the base I go off of.

Great sounding biscuit and great info for the future. I notice there are so many different flours out there it gets VERY confusing.

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pointsevenout 11 years ago said:

That is not buttermilk! It is sour milk. Two different animals.
Powdered buttermilk is the way to go if you don't use a lot of buttermilk.
Buttermilk is WAY expensive in the store. I have posted a recipe on how to make your own REAL buttermilk that brings the price down to almost the same as regular milk. See my recipes.

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mommyluvs2cook 11 years ago said:

Well it all works out with baking at least okay with me. Not sure how other stuff turns out. Will for sure check out your recipe!

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lovebreezy 11 years ago said:

I just don't like buttermilk although I've tried to like it just like I tried to like coffee and beer--just not for me. Cooking with it is another thing so I appreciate there is a way to make your own. P7O, I went through your recipes and just can't find it, can you help?

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pointsevenout 11 years ago said:

Now where did that pesky recipe get off to!
Well here's what you do:
Buy a gallon of regular milk (whole or 2%) (pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized works too) and a small container of buttermilk. You will need 1 cup of the buttermilk.
Pour out 2 cups of the milk and drink it. Pour the 1 cup of buttermilk inoculate in with the gallon of regular milk. Shake to combine.
Let it rest on the counter top or above the refrigerator, in a place slightly above room temperature, overnight or for 24 hours, or until the thickness and tang you desire has been reached. Refrigerate.
When the new batch of buttermilk is used down to 1 cup, you can add it to a fresh gallon of milk, minus 2 cups, and have a fresh gallon of buttermilk again in 24 hours. Again and again and again.
The 2 cups of milk is decanted off so there is room for expansion of the new buttermilk culture.
Leaving the forming buttermilk on the counter for more than 24 hours can cause it to get very lumpy. Throw it in a blender to smooth it out.
I can understand that some just don't like buttermilk. I didn't like it at all growing up. But now I can pop a bellybutton drinking too much of it.

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frankieanne 11 years ago said:

That's a very interesting recipe, pso.
I've "made" buttermilk (or sour milk) before and used it in something. It came out all right but I can't remember what I used it in.
I can't seem to find a pint of buttermilk. Is there such a thing? I only seem to see quarts. If I could find pints, I wouldn't have any problems!

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pointsevenout 11 years ago said:

Smallest I've been able to find is quarts too. But I have no trouble measuring out a cup and drinking the rest. But after that initial quart, the cup of culture starter comes from the almost depleted gallon of buttermilk. And you never have to buy buttermilk again.

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lovebreezy 11 years ago said:

Why thank you. This is fun, just like a Herman, or sourdough starter. Just curious, do you think it would work if you started with some of that powdered buttermilk stuff? Not that I'd do it that way but it was just an idea. Well mom likes buttermilk so perhaps I'll share a quart with her. Thank you again.

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pointsevenout 11 years ago said:

Don't think it would work with powdered. It needs a live culture to propagate. I'm not sure that the buttermilk culture goes into hibernation like a yeast. Let us know what you find out.

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